One of the most intricate and tricky elements of bead craft is the notion of patterning. The human eye reflexively seeks out & identifies patterns, and our brains are designed to parse data in smaller, easily ordered chunks. Thus, the reason telephone numbers, social security numbers, and the like are broken into smallish chunks: 555-1212 vs. 5551212.
Oftentimes, an amateur to the world of beadwork will be tempted to just use whatever is on hand, and the outcome will be haphazard randomness. Now, it's true that this approach can sometimes yield attractive outcome. There is, however, a growing body of evidence indicating that symmetry and identifiable patterns are among the keys to defining what we see and recognize as "beauty." A student of bead craft would do well to take these lessons to heart, which brings us back 'round to the significance of patterning as it relates to your beadwork.
Beadwork patterns might be as simple or as compound as you'd care to make them, though I would suggest simpler designs for the amateur, with rising difficulty as an usual addition of experience. And don't think that a simple pattern will create unattractive outcome! The simplest pattern of all is 1-1-1, best embodied by the classic strand of pearls. Easy. Elegant. Timeless.
Still, many people get into bead craft as a form of self presentation, and among the techniques that expression manifests itself in the hobby is through the magic of the pattern.
Some people (both beginners and veterans in the bead craft world) spend hours upon hours experimenting with arrangements until they hit upon anything that's really compelling. More common though, particularly to those new to beadwork, is a sense of intimidation. This is unlucky, but the overwhelming majority of hobbyists will outgrow that fear as they achieve more bead craft experience.
Still, if you've recently taken up beadwork as a hobby and find yourself struggling with the complexity of developing your own patterns, you can find a number of web sites on the web providing bead craft pattern ideas and illustrations. Make use of these in your designs, and before very long, you will possibly find yourself thinking, "I like this pattern, but would not it be neat if..." and almost before you know it, you'll be on your route to creating your own, wholly exclusive beadwork.
Anybody can, in a matter of minutes, learn the essential mechanics of bead craft, but the real artistry, and the portion that takes more time to master, is learning the art of patterning. My advice to newbies would be simply this: Try developing bead craft patterns on your own, but don't force it. If it is something you're struggling with, seek out bead craft resource websites on the web for pattern ideas and practice with those. Sooner or later, something will "click" inside your head, and you'll find yourself branching out in your own direction.
Patience and practice. They are the real keys to mastering the craft, and coming up with original, innovative beadwork.
Oftentimes, an amateur to the world of beadwork will be tempted to just use whatever is on hand, and the outcome will be haphazard randomness. Now, it's true that this approach can sometimes yield attractive outcome. There is, however, a growing body of evidence indicating that symmetry and identifiable patterns are among the keys to defining what we see and recognize as "beauty." A student of bead craft would do well to take these lessons to heart, which brings us back 'round to the significance of patterning as it relates to your beadwork.
Beadwork patterns might be as simple or as compound as you'd care to make them, though I would suggest simpler designs for the amateur, with rising difficulty as an usual addition of experience. And don't think that a simple pattern will create unattractive outcome! The simplest pattern of all is 1-1-1, best embodied by the classic strand of pearls. Easy. Elegant. Timeless.
Still, many people get into bead craft as a form of self presentation, and among the techniques that expression manifests itself in the hobby is through the magic of the pattern.
Some people (both beginners and veterans in the bead craft world) spend hours upon hours experimenting with arrangements until they hit upon anything that's really compelling. More common though, particularly to those new to beadwork, is a sense of intimidation. This is unlucky, but the overwhelming majority of hobbyists will outgrow that fear as they achieve more bead craft experience.
Still, if you've recently taken up beadwork as a hobby and find yourself struggling with the complexity of developing your own patterns, you can find a number of web sites on the web providing bead craft pattern ideas and illustrations. Make use of these in your designs, and before very long, you will possibly find yourself thinking, "I like this pattern, but would not it be neat if..." and almost before you know it, you'll be on your route to creating your own, wholly exclusive beadwork.
Anybody can, in a matter of minutes, learn the essential mechanics of bead craft, but the real artistry, and the portion that takes more time to master, is learning the art of patterning. My advice to newbies would be simply this: Try developing bead craft patterns on your own, but don't force it. If it is something you're struggling with, seek out bead craft resource websites on the web for pattern ideas and practice with those. Sooner or later, something will "click" inside your head, and you'll find yourself branching out in your own direction.
Patience and practice. They are the real keys to mastering the craft, and coming up with original, innovative beadwork.
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